West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-08-12
THE CLAIM ON CONGRESS.

The resolution at Roanoke, that
Congress should pay part of the
Virginia debt, merits more than
passing comment, because the prop
ositiOn will shortly engage good
share of public attention. The Vir-
ginia politicians suggest that the
claim ON Congress rests on its duty
to compensate for the cession of the
Northwestern territory, but much
stronger ground exists; and this
other ground addresses itself to a
popular sense of common justice.
Virginia was divided as war
measure. Military necessity re.
/ quired that Congress should inter
pose loyal State between the Con-
federacy on the one side and Penn
svlvania and Ohio on the other side.
Hence, West Virginia was created:
and her existence during the war
saved to the Federal Government an
expenditure equal to Virginia's debt
twice told. No one has ever pre-
tended to deny that Congress, and
| Congress alone, is responsible for
! the diSmemberment Of Virginia. But
the division took away from Virgin
ia large portion of the assets on
the faith of which she had issued
her bonds. If West Virginia was
now part of Virginia, her revenues,
applicable to the payment of the
debt, would be nearly 4 million of
dollars larger than they are. Again.
The ordinance of the convention
which divided Va. contains q clause
providing in express terms rule by
which to ascertain the amount which
the new State was to pay. The OBJ
iect of this rule was to eXonerate
West Virginia from probably three
fourthS of the amount which, in the
absence of the rule, would be her le
gal proportion of the debt incurred
previous to the war.
Again. In 1860 Virginia was the
owner of largely more than S6,OOO,-
900 Of property located in the coun-
ties composing West Virginia, for
example, she owned bank stocks,
State works, and stocks in many in
ternal improvement companies;).
All OF this property was taken away
from Virginia and transferred tothe
new State. West Virginia has sold
some of this property, thus taken
from Virginia, and the proceeds are
now in her Treasury.
Hence, Virenia's claim on Con-
gress rests on three facts;
l. The division of the old State
was a military measure, and was
done for the benefit of the whole
Union.
,. The division took away from,
and placed beyond the reach OF, Vir-
ginia fully one-half of the assets on
which she relied as the means of
paving her bonds. And this is an
addition to the S6,0OO,OOO of proper
ty which belonging to Virginia but
transferred to the new State.
3. The ordinance which divided
old Virginia fixed the amount to be
paid by West Virginia and thereby
exonerated the new State from her
legal share of debt winch had been
incurred for the common benefit.
West Virginia was thus exonerated
although more than 100000 OF
| property was transferred to her,
which, properly speaking, was apart
Of the assets applicable to the vir-
ginia debt,
Since Congress produced this con-
ditjon of things, and since this con-
dition of things was brought about
as a military measure for the benefit
of the entire Union, caseis present.
ed entirely different from any other
case, and makes the strongest claim
on the National Government.
According to right and justice the